Triangulating Quadrants
by redhaze03
Summary: Tavros tries to make sense out of his relationships with Dave and Gamzee, and the quadrants they fill with him and each other, all while trying to keep them from killing one another.


Okay…. ummm…. yeah, okay… This was just a drabble that smacked me upside the head… and it quickly festered there… and grew into something that is apparently now going to be multi-chaptered… What? X.x

It's about my Homestuck OT3: Gam/Tav/Dave.

As always, this is an AU where they're older… still young though… probably about 15 or 16 in human years. wee~

I always feel like I fail to do justice to these characters. Homestuck characters are so hard to write! I hope I did okay, if I didn't, let me know how I can make it better. I thought Karkat was hard… you guys… Karkat has nothing on Dave, NOTHING!

Okay, I'm done rambling now. This will probably only be 2-3 chapters long.

o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o

"G-gamzee..! U-uh… No! W-wait…! Just hold on!"

"You heard the man, chill. What's the problem?"

"The problem… is that you… are still motherfucking breathing, brother!"

"Ah! Gamzee! Wait! Don't!" Tavros tried with all his might to hold back the taller troll, his feet planted firmly on the floor, his hands pushing at his chest, but it seemed to be to no avail. The indigo-blooded teen just pressed forward and Tavros would be pushed back, the distance between them and Dave just a bit smaller.

This was getting ridiculous. It was becoming a near daily ritual. Dave just stood there, his head very slightly cocked to one side, looking curiously amused, like he was waiting for the end of a magic trick. He didn't even seem to be the least bit perturbed or worried for the welfare of his life. Not a single flicker of emotion got through the shield of his sunglasses. What was he thinking? He wasn't god-tier; he had no more lives to fall back on! If Gamzee got to him that would be the end… and just where did that leave Tavros?

When had things gotten so complicated?

(Back when things got complicated)

One final chance, that's all he had left… After Aradia and Sollux figured out how to pull their dead selves out of the dream bubbles they were warned that if their dream bubble selves died there would be no more do overs. Really, dream bubble selves were sort of like cheats, an anomaly that let them continue to exist, cognizant of the fact that they were really dead, knowing that life was moving on without them, even able to interact with the living while they slept. It was probably just an accident that Sollux managed to escape his dream bubble back to the reality, but once he knew what he did he taught them all to do it. Cheating…, something that Vriska seemed to love. They were all cheaters now, just like her.

Tavros didn't see it that way… it was like those things that Gamzee was always talking about… a miracle… but not one involving clown gods, at least he didn't think so. Just when he thought it was really all over, here he was with just one final chance to make it all work out. He didn't want to lose this chance; he didn't want to waste had had so much time to think and reflect on his life, his mistakes, and what he had wanted while he had been in the dream bubbles. He thought it was all too late, but now… now he could make it all happen… if he had the nerve. But he was tired of being a pushover, of letting life walk all over him. So he had taken Rufio and... well… symbolically, he ate him, taking him into himself, he was Rufio now… w-while still being Tavros, that is! He still wondered if that had worked, but he liked to pretend it had.

In either case the first thing he did was finally force himself to confront Gamzee. He hadn't been there when he was first brought back, though all the others who had died and were now back greeted him cheerfully enough, even those who hadn't died, like Kanaya and Terezi. Why wasn't Gamzee there? After avoiding him and the subject they had talked about that one time in the past, was he avoiding Tavros now in return? He had relived the memory in his dream bubbles many times… between rooming with one of the alternate Daves. It had made him think a lot, but still, he hadn't come up with a clear and concise answer even after all this time. He hadn't been sure what he was going to do when he was face to face with someone he had thought his best friend, confronting something that had very little to do with just… pure friendship.

He had found Gamzee with Karkat, the two of them… oddly enough, laying out in the horn pile talking to each other in whispers. Gamzee had been curled slightly over Karkat's smaller form, and Karkat seemed to be allowing it to happen. It seemed like a very private matter he had just barged in on; it had made his chest feel really tight. When had Karkat and Gamzee gotten so close? Sure he had heard Gamzee call Karkat his best friend more than once, but Karkat always seemed annoyed with Gamzee. And really, Tavros had always thought Gamzee was his best friend… So was he wrong? And if Gamzee wasn't his best friend, what had they been all along? And since when was Karkat this nice to Gamzee?

"U-uhhh… Gamzee…?" quietly, almost losing his nerve completely, Tavros had called out to the subjugglator, the tightening in his chest getting worse when Gamzee had visibly tensed just to hear his voice.

What had that been? What an awful feeling! He didn't want to feel it again. It was a small eternity of waiting before Gamzee had turned to look at him, random horns in the pile honking with the movement. Karkat had just stared at him, too, his face as serious and drawn as always. But Tavros barely noticed it. What he saw was Gamzee's face… those scars…

"Hey Tav-bro, what's up?" Gamzee smiled at him, but it wasn't the usual smile Tavros had come to associate with the juggalo troll. It seemed… really sad.

He felt really sad deep down inside. Gamzee had greeted him so casually, like nothing at all had happened, like he would greet him after being apart just an hour or so. He had been dead… hadn't Gamzee missed him at all?

"Umm… H-hi Gamzee… a-and hi to you, too Karkat. uhh…Gamzee… c-can we talk? Y-you know… i-in private..? I-if uh… i-if that's okay with you, that is… I-it's… it's really, uhh, important." He had called him over with as much force as he could without appearing too bossy.

It almost looked like Gamzee was going to say no… but then… Karkat touched his shoulder and Gamzee visibly relaxed… It still took a while before Gamzee actually answered him.

"Yeah. Sure thing, motherfucker."

How long had that been going on? Why did that make him feel like he couldn't breathe? That it took Karkat's encouragement, only after that had Gamzee agreed to go with him. But even as he withdrew from the horn pile he kept looking back at Karkat, who would just nod solemnly at him. What was that? Since when?

"Where to?" Gamzee stood before him, his posture slouched, hiding just how tall he really was. Even then he looked so tense, he wouldn't meet his gaze… why was that?

"Ah… uh… t-this way…" It was so awkward.

Tavros lost what little nerve he had while he led Gamzee away to a more secluded location. Whatever it was that they were going to say, he didn't want people walking in on them, overhearing any part of it. He still didn't know just what it was he was going to say; what his answer was going to be after all this time.

The answer seemed to decide itself out when, his body seemingly moving on its own, he pulled Gamzee into his arms and gently pecked him on the lips. It sent a thrill through him, a bolt of something strange, and yet exciting, racing down his back.

Gamzee hadn't kissed him back, was just stiff in his arms. Tavros was worried when he started to shake instead, too afraid to open his eyes again to see his expression. Maybe he had been wrong, maybe Gamzee had been joking after all. He pulled back, fearing the rejection, but Gamzee had refused to let him go. He was pulled back in tight and all but crushed by tree branch like limbs, long and thin and hard.

"Motherfuck, man…"

"Uh… Gamzee…?"

Gamzee didn't say anything more for a long time. He just curled over his smaller form, and, careful of his horns, hid his face against his shoulder and neck.

They had stayed that way for what could have been hours; really the time seemed to pass by too quickly. It had taken a while before Tavros realized that the shakes were Gamzee's attempt to suppress his tears. It obviously hadn't worked, since Tavros eventually felt the wetness of them soaking into his shoulder. Gamzee's make-up became a runny, dripping mess.

"Gamzee… w-what's wrong? Y-you… you're really starting to, uhh, worry me." Tavros had pulled back just enough to look at him then, gently wiping away the watery indigo tears, only smearing the makeup more.

He had bitten his lip with worry when he took in Gamzee's scarred face once again. What had happened, he couldn't help but wonder. He had wanted to ask about the story behind them, but he held his tongue. They looked painful; they also looked like they had a painful tale behind them. Tavros got the distinct feeling that the pain of these scars, and not just the physical pain, were in the tears Gamzee was releasing then, too.

Gamzee wept in his arms until he was completely spent of tears, then Tavros felt his lips against his own again, wet and salty. It was a simple touch of lips to lips, bare brushes, really, but many of them. He didn't know if he should count it as one kiss or an innumerable amount of them in the span of a few minutes. They felt nice, like brushes of butterfly wings over his lips, their cousins fluttering pleasantly in his stomach. This was the answer, he finally knew it.

"B-but… but what about Karkat..?" he found himself asking, hating himself instantly for it. He didn't want to know the answer! If Karkat was so important to Gamzee… then what was this?

Gamzee started to shake again, but this time it was with laughter, soft at first, a bit wheezy, then louder, throwing back his head in amusement.

"No… no way, man… Are you trying to tell me that you're all up and motherfucking jealous of Karkat? That… that's so fucking cute, Tav… Like a fucking bright-eyed miracle just waltzed right the fuck in here and looked at me with it's motherfucking big brown eyes. It makes me want to eat you right the fuck up." And then he nipped at his cheek, a bare brush of fangs over his skin.

"G-gamzee…?" Tavros shivered hard, ducking his head, always careful of his horns.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Karkat's the moirail, s'got nothing to do with motherfucking here and now, man."

"O-oh…" the last cold chunks in his stomach melted away.

They barely spoke words in the following few hours, they weren't needed. An unspoken understanding fell over them and for a very rare and sweet moment, Tavros felt all his anxiety calm. He had hugged Gamzee tight again, keeping him close until even Gamzee stopped shaking, then when things had finally completely calmed between them, he helped the jugglo troll wash his face reapply his face paint, careful of his wounds. The makeup did a good job and hiding the scars. He laughed when Gamzee tried to paint his face as well.

They got a few hours of simple bliss, a few touches and words shared, it was good… But they couldn't just stay like that forever, as comfortable and inexplicably natural as it felt for Tavros. They had to go meet the humans for the first time really soon. It was all happening so quickly, but time was basically of the essence.

Tavros became nervous all over again then. He spent almost his time within the dream bubbles (a time that seemed a lot longer in the dream bubbles than it had been in reality, it turned out) hanging out and living with one of the alternate, dead Daves. He had chatted with the real one, at least he was pretty sure it was the main timeline Dave (and did that really matter when most of the alternate Daves had the same memory?) a few times over Trollian, but that had been a disaster!

This Dave wasn't going to remember any of the time spent together in the dream bubbles, because this was a completely different Dave. He wouldn't remember the times they shared or the connection they had made. Would this Dave still think he was weak and pathetic, a joke of a sentient being? Why did it really matter to him so much? This wasn't his Dave, chances were that it would never again be his Dave… it was best to just… let it go.

He always over thought everything.

It was a strange, somewhat awkward, but really happy occasion when the humans joined them after the Scratch. Each human seemed to have a troll that they wanted to meet first. John had greeted Karkat first, laughing happily about being able to see him for the first time when Karkat knew what he looked like all along, even going as far as jokingly calling them all dirty voyeurs. After that he had happily hugged Vriska, who clung to him as if he were her lifeline. Tavros took a second then to think about how that made him feel, realizing fairly quickly that he was perfectly okay with it, even happy for Vriska.

Jade hugged a bunch of the girls: Aradia and Feferi first, followed by Kanaya. She then cautiously approached Karkat, and after a few tense words, the two relaxed and started to talk in an almost friendly manner. That was pretty crazy in and of itself. Jade hadn't even spared him more than a quick glance.

Kanaya was the one to approach and greet Rose. They fell into a really quiet conversation fairly quickly. By their postures Tavros could tell that they were probably bantering, sizing each other up in person.

He looked at Dave, wondering if he should follow Kanaya's example and greet him first. He was just standing there, looking them all over, like he couldn't decide which one he'd deign with his presence first. But Terezi made a b-line for him before the pale human male had a chance to decide who he wanted to meet first.

Tavros stayed back, then decided to stand next to Gamzee, who looked a little tense for some odd reason. Their hands kept brushing, as if the taller troll was trying to reassure himself with the touches. Maybe it was best if he just stayed back with Gamzee and didn't greet any of them until later. He didn't feel that he knew any of the humans that well, though he had blindly confessed red feelings for Jade just because she had been a lot nicer to him than Vriska had ever been. He had been so confused about his feelings back then. Maybe that was why she didn't come to greet him. Maybe it was still awkward for her. He'd have to apologize to her later.

And… well he spoke to Rose once, just to get her advice on how he could better talk to Dave, so no real personal connection between the two of them. He couldn't remember if he ever had a real conversation with John. Karkat and Vriska seemed to hog almost all the John conversation… And Dave… well… it was just really complicated, he was sure, but he wasn't the Dave he had gotten to know… It wouldn't feel right to greet him so informally.

But Dave didn't seem to agree.

"Hey, you're that troll with the shitty rhymes, right?"

"Uh…" Tavros blinked a few times, blushing to have his slam poetry made fun of, but it wasn't the first time a Dave had put them down. "Y-yeah…" Really, it was a Dave that helped him improve them. This Dave didn't know that, though.

"Cool," the pale boy nodded his head once and then an awkward silence fell between them. Besides Tavros, Gamzee hadn't made a single peep. The taller troll was as stiff as steel, maybe more so than before. Tavros spared him a quick glance before Dave took his attention again.

"Hey, I just gotta know. I've been dying to ask; do the size of your horns represent what you got packing downstairs? Because shit man, those fuckers are huge; I just wouldn't be able to understand what the whole insecure act was about if that was true."

"Ah…" Tavros felt the brown of his blood paint his cheeks darkly, staring at Dave incredulously, "u-uh… w-wha…?"

Dave smirked, which by regular standards could have been considered a straight out laugh, "Man, you really are cuter than I thought you'd be. This is going to be great."

"W-wha…?" What was going to be great?

He didn't get the chance to ask. Dave had leaned in and kissed Tavros then, the Page of Breath too stunned to react, simply letting the Knight of Time steal the air straight out of his lungs in mere seconds that seemed to drag on for hours. He made a sound when something warm and wet slipped past his stunned lips, a shiver running down his spine when it slid over his tongue in a quick sweep.

There had been a dull roar in his ears then… or maybe that had been Gamzee because the Bard of Rage had suddenly been between them, his back to Tavros, bright red dripping from his hand. Such bright red… and it was blossoming over Dave's abdomen, too. Gamzee loomed over the pale human, like a feral animal ready to attack.

Time caught up to him.

"I'll kill you, motherfucker!"

"Dave!" Tavros thought that had been his cry at first, his lips parted, but it had been John. He had been too stunned to even make a sound. The Heir of Breath, so much better than him in every way, even in title, rushed over to his fallen friend.

Tavros shook his head and finally forced his body to move into action.

"Gamzee!" he had wrapped his arms around the taller troll's middle, tugging him away from the two humans on the floor. "W-what are you doing? S-stop!"

But Gamzee didn't stop. He struggled against him, growling with rage as he tried to break free. He had fought his best to hold on, to keep pulling him back, but Gamzee was too strong, dragging him along with him. That was until Karkat stepped into Gamzee's line of sight. The Knight of Blood, pushed Tavros out of his way and forced Gamzee to concentrate on him, shooshing him and patting his cheek, stroking his hair, murmuring quietly to him, though Tavros could still hear Karkat calling Gamzee some of his usual names.

Tavros felt completely lost and useless. But at least Karkat seemed to be calming Gamzee down, leading him away from the source of his rage. But Dave! John had picked Dave up and with a gust of wind carried him away from the gathering crowds. Tavros felt a swell of fear, quickly following after them, the wind at his feet as well. John carried Dave to a secluded location, setting him down gently on the ground. Tavros rushed to Dave's side, slipping down to his knees before him. But John was already taking care of things there, too.

He pulled out what looked like a tiny blue pieces of grist and forced them into Dave's mouth. Dave made a face as he chewed up the pieces of edible grist and Tavros watched in amazement as his wound started to heal itself up until it wasn't there anymore. Had the humans had something like that all along? Why hadn't they used it on themselves before? They could still be alive along with their dream selves.

"There we go, good as knew. It's a good thing it wasn't that bad, huh?" John laughed as he wiped Dave's blood off on his pants leg, smiling cheerfully.

"Yeah, lucky for me, holes halfway into my gut aren't that serious of a wound. I'm surprised you wasted some of your disgusting healing phlegm gushers on something this trivial, man. Shoulda just slap a band-aid on that sucker. Good as new. Why the hell did you carry me off anyways?"

"Hehe, didn't want you to look bad in front of all the other trolls, bleeding out and all that. So not cool, so I saved the last shred of your dignity! You're welcome!" John smiled impishly.

"Yeah, you saved it all for yourself, you mean. Carrying me off princess style into the vast void. Not cool, Egbert, not cool."

"Oops!" John laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Nah, s'cool… got plenty to spare. That shit refills itself faster than blood, in a an hour or so I'll be good as new. But you, you need all the dignity you can get."

John laughed, smacking Dave lightly on the back, "You had me scared there for a second. I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, glad I'm okay, too. So you can stop worrying about me for a second, Egbert. You got more important things to do… like have a leader pow-wow with the short stack. He's really fucking short, isn't he?"

"Hehe, yeah. I was really surprised, too. I really expected him to be taller. The way he talks, I have expected him to a sea-weathered old sailor with a peg-leg. But he's actually our age, only smaller. It's kinda cute."

"Cute?"

"Ah, umm… I mean adorable, n-no… I… I mean… dammit, he's tiny and it's silly!" John's face blossomed in a bright red blush.

"Heh, it's cool man, I know what you meant, just yanking your chain."

Tavros felt like he was intruding on their conversation. He shifted uncomfortably on his knees… trying to not look directly at either of them. He really should have left them alone, but… somehow that felt rude.

"Uh…"

"John, why don't you go check on Karkat and Chuckles McGee? Find out what made him go all Pennywise on my ass."

John blinked in surprise, looking at Dave, then glancing at Tavros. He hadn't missed the interaction between the two of them.

Pink blossomed over John's face again; did all humans blush so easily? "Uh… sure. Just rest for a few seconds more, k?"

"Sure thing, oh great and palhoncho, your word is my command." Dave gave a two finger salute.

"Ass," John muttered to himself with a chuckle as he got up and followed the general direction in which Karkat had left with Gamzee.

"Uh… i-is that really a good idea..? I… I mean… Gamzee is… he's usually, uhh, very nice and everything, but I… I've never see him mad like that before."

"Eh, John will be fine… worse comes to worst, your chuckle friend will kill him in a very stupid way and John will just come back to life."

"Oh, uh… o-okay…" Tavros still didn't think that was such a good idea. God-tier or not, he was pretty sure it had to hurt… dying each time. "But… uh… I, I know why Gamzee… I mean, I know why he might have, uhh, did what he did to you… I… I think."

He saw an eyebrow twitch in the small clearing between his sunglasses and the fringe of pale yellow hair.

"Oh really, and why do you, uh, think that is?" Dave was making fun of the way he talked now. He always teased him when he was trying to make light of something that was actually important to him. Why someone tried to kill him had to be included in that.

"B-because…" he felt another blush start to warm his cheeks, he was blushing as easily as a human now. He looked away, not able to look at Dave directly, "B-because you, uhh…. K-kissed me…"

A small silence fell between the two of them. Tavros felt Dave's eyes on him even through the layer of his dark shades.

"Oh," that was all the blond said, another awkward silence stretching on between them for a while, then added, "I wasn't supposed to do that?"

His entire face had to be colored brown with his blood, he was sure of it now. "W-why did you do that?" Tavros asked as his answer.

Dave had just shrugged, "Felt like the right thing to do at the time. Didn't know you already had a boy toy by your side. You're surprisingly popular for a guy who comes off as pretty pathetic… I did say you and me were in this for the long haul, right? We were getting straight up married. So I was just giving the little wifey some sugar."

Married… wife… those were a few of the terms Dream Bubble Dave had taught him. The blush on his face was intense. "O-oh… b-but… uh… t-that was just… you joking with me… r-right? I… I thought it was."

"Yeah, probably," Dave agreed with a shrug. Deeming himself fully healed, he had sat up then, forcing Tavros to sit back to avoid bumping heads, or rather to keep Dave's head from smacking against his horns. It really hurt when he did that. "Back then I was joking."

Tavros felt his insides freeze hot, "Y-you… you were…? B-but… n-not anymore is what you're, uhh, saying?" Was Dave confessing red feelings for him? Where had this come from? Had Dream Bubble Dave also had red feelings for him and he just never knew it?

Dave had gently gripped his chin, forcing Tavros to look at him. He tipped his sunglasses down just a few fractions, giving a peeking view of the crimson orbs they usually hid, "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"That's what you're… uh…" Tavros was at a complete and total loss. "I… I don't think… t-that I, uhh… understand what it is that you are, uhh, trying to tell me."

Dave just studied his face for a few minutes, gauging his reaction. He sighed softly, "Okay. Looks like there's no helping it. Time for some much needed elucidations before your stutter and blush yourself into a coma. I had a powernap about an hour before the Scratch. You'd think with all this crazy shit coming from all sides I wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of my life, but no. Old Sand Man just stopped by for a visit, all old pixie trickster like, and threw a heaping handful of sleep grit right in my eyes all, 'Hey Dave, how's it going. You're doing a great job, being the Knight of Time, and Imma let you finish, but first I need you to be unconscious.' What is that shit made out of anyways? Do you think it's eye phlegm? I always thought it was eye phlegm, and all that access shit just squeezes out like wet sleep mud every morning."

There he went on another random tangent that Tavros never understood. Sand Man? Who the heck was that? "Dave…"

Dave broke off his tirade about this sand man and his eye phlegm conspiracy, "Yeah. Just kinda fell on me. Turns out one of my alternate selves really wanted to have a jam session." He gave Tavros a significant look, "Pretty much told me fucking everything."

His dead Dave..? "E-everything?"

"Yeah, about how you two became roomies from hell, like old school Odd Couple style. How you grew on him in your pathetic doofy style and you are his pale diamond love."

Tavros squeaked, actually squeaked and wondered if he'd ever stop blushing now, "H-he told you that I said we were moirails?"

"If that's what being diamond means, yeah. He told me all sorts of TMI bullshit about the two of you, kinda gross, dude. But then he said you were alive again and it was my duty to pick up the pink mantle or some shit. He was really vague about it, you know? He's really an insufferable prick."

"Uhh…" it seemed like his Dave wanted to make sure he was taken care of even in this world… he really was a good moirail, even though Tavros felt he never fully understood what it meant. It seemed this Dave understood it even less.

"Gotta tell you that my first thought was 'why is that my fucking problem?' It's none of my business if you played butt-chums with one of my dead alternate selves."

"We didn't-." Tavros tried to interject, but Dave cut him off.

"It's cool, you prefer sausage to cherry pie. Not judging you man."

"W-wha…?" What did that mean? It sounded vaguely dirty, but this was Dave, after all.

"It's not my place to judge you if I were, it'd make me king of the hypocrite douche lords, and while I know that'd be a mantle I could just pick up on the fly like it ain't a thing, it's not one I particularly want. Just thought at first that, as an alternate version of me, he'd have better taste in who he wants to pork, y'know."

"I… uhh… I don't…" Pork? Wasn't that… the meat of a human squealbeast? What did that have to do with anything?

"But then I figure, well maybe I just don't know this troll guy all that well, anyway. If another me thought he was good enough to bone, who the hell am I to say any different? I trust me with my love life. I am fucking awesome."

"Dave, I-."

"So I thought I'd wait and see for myself when we got here after the Scratch. And I really gotta say, you're cuter than I thought you'd be. Freaking adorable, really, with those big anime kawaii desu eyes, and that 'I'm-trying-to-be-as-small-as-possible' slouch. Look at you, trying to be ten kinds of cool with that Mohawk."

"Uhh…"

"You just seem to be trying so hard, man."

"I… I don't."

"Mohawks aren't that cool."

"Wait… I…"

"But I gotta give you points, man, because it fucking suits you."

"I-it… it does?"

"Yeah, but it's still lame as all fuck."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, Mohawks weren't cool even when everyone thought they were, but that's okay. Not everyone has to be cool. What makes cool people cool is that it's such a hard level on the eche-ladder to climb up to, so hard that most people don't even have it as an achievable level. But then there are the blessed like me who start on this mystical level of cool and still have room to grow more, to achieve all the levels of cool. It's a gift, a curse really, that I have had to shoulder since I was dropped on Earth on a burning pony."

"Dave," Tavros sighed, already feeling that he wouldn't be able to get a word in edge-wise.

"Now normally I'd look at someone like you and I'd just laugh at the poor, unfortunate sucker, laugh good and long and hard. But I look at you with your Mohawk and your shitty rhymes and your stutter, and my maternal instincts just turn on and go into overdrive. I don't feel the need to laugh, not a lot anyways. And you know why?"

"Uh… n-no… why?" Tavros tilted his head to the side curiously.

"Because I can see that you have potential," Dave patted him once on the shoulder.

"I… I do?" Dream Bubble Dave had said that to him before, too, but he didn't want to say that to this Dave. It'd probably get annoying really fast if all he kept telling Dave was that another version of himself had already told him a lot of these things.

"Yep. Hard to tell how much under all that insecurity fog rolling in over the wharf, but I think you have a level of cool at the top of your eche-ladder, the S. waiting to be brought to port."

Human analogies always confused, Tavros, nevermind mixed human analogies, "I… do…?"

"Oh yeah, man," Dave nodded his head once, "If I say so it has to be true. So I've decided."

"Y-you did? What did you, uh, decide?"

" I'm glad you asked. I've decided that I'm going to take you under my wing. Think of me as your lighthouse mentor to break through the fog of lame and bring the S. home. What do you say, Tav? The captain has been fairing these rough seas long, enough. Time to bring it on home and let him have a tearful reunion with his wife and child, right?"

"Oh…" it was a bit like moirails, one helping the other grow, protecting them and such. "I… I guess so…"

"Yep, when I'm through with you, all the bitches and hos will be falling at your feet, all 'oh, Mister Big Horns, oh!'"

"N-nitram."

"What?"

"It'd be… M-mister Nitram…" Tavros felt himself blushing again."

Dave smirked and slung his arm over the troll's shoulder, "That's the spirit. There's hope for you yet, young padawan."

"What?"

"Nevermind, I'll tell you later. Point is: you're cool enough for me, man, and that goes a long way. So let's do this pale love thing. I'm not that other Dave, though. If you want into my pants you're going to have to do some serious wooing. I don't give it all away for free."

"D-dave…" Tavros sighed heavily, "I, uhh… I think I should explain to you… w-what being moirails really means…"

(Forward again to where things are still complicated)

"Gamzee!" Tavros cried out in vain as he used all the force he could muster to try to push the juggalo back. "Please, don't do this!"

"The motherfucker's gotta die, Tav. He's gotta die for motherfucking thinking he can hang all over you like that! What gives him the fucking right?"

"I'm the love of his life, that's what gives me the right," Dave answered smoothly, smirking in amusement as Gamzee slowly but surely closed the gap between them. Tavros was between them, Gamzee would never hurt Tavros.

"Dave!" Tavros wailed in dismay. He had explained to Dave again and again, as best as he was able, what it meant to be moirails, but Dave still seemed to refuse to understand. It made things so complicated and awkward. What was stranger still was that he didn't hate the affections Dave gave him. It was more affection than moirails should give each other right? Then why did it feel so nice. He didn't want to think about it, he had more important things to deal with at the moment.

He spared a glance at their leader who seemed to be ignoring his plight. "Karkat! Karkat help!"

The troll leader sighed heavily from where his one-sided argument with John had come to a screeching halt because of their scene. John looked concerned, but he kept out of it. Experience had taught him that. Karkat just wasn't as lucky. He was obligated to get into it. He glared at them all over his shoulder, then stomped over, grabbing Gamzee by his hair and pulling him away like it wasn't even a thing. Gamzee didn't even fight him.

"I am tired of your fucking shit, Gamzee! It's like you fucking do this on purpose. If you don't like the fucking tool douche, then stop going over there and attacking him. Or at the very fucking least stop trying to kill him and just hate snog already!"

"Honk."

Tavros sighed and slipped down to the floor, resting his head on his raised knees."

"Hey, what's the problem now?" Dave sat next to him, leaning his head down on his shoulder.

He said this bold display of affection was completely ironic, but Tavros always thought that the ironic thing was just an excuse for Dave to do silly things without appearing silly for doing them. He'd never say that, though. Let him have his reason.

Tavros pouted at him as best as he could from the side, "You're doing it on purpose! M-making Gamzee mad. I don't get why. I-it's like… l-like you're trying to get hurt… I-if you die… if you die you can't come back, a-and… and I… I…"

"Whoa hey, no fucking tears. Tears aren't fair, Tav. We've been over this." Dave slung his arm over his shoulder, pulling Tavros close in a comforting gesture.

"S-sorry… I… I, uh… don't mean to… I just… Gamzee never used to get mad at all… a-and now he only gets mad at you. H-he can really hurt you, you know, a-and I don't want that."

Since that first meeting incident, they were all on the alert. The moment that Gamzee starts charging at Dave for any reason, anyone present has to do all they can to keep them apart until Karkat can calm Gamzee down. Each time Tavros worried that they wouldn't be able to hold him back long enough for Karkat to intervene, especially when Karkat seemed so set on putting it off as long as possible now. Like he wanted to see what Gamzee would do if he reached Dave. W-wasn't it Karkat that said they should all keep from killing each other now? Did he really hate Dave so much?

"Yeah, I get that part… But just chill out, Tav. He's not gonna hurt me." Dave rubbed his shoulder. It felt nice.

"Y-you don't know that. He already hurt you once before… Dave… I… I, uh, I did explain to you what moirails means, r-right?"

"More times than I can count, yeah."

Tavros could read Dave's expression even through the shield of his sunglasses. He saw another lecture coming on, and he was right.

"I… I think… t-that we should… s-should, uh, talk about it one more time, okay? A-and this time, y-you'll tell me what you think o-of what I say."

Dave sighed, "There's no chance of avoiding this, is there?"

Tavros smiled sheepishly and shook his head, "No…"

Dave settled back comfortable against the wall, shifting his shoulder a little, then nodded. "Alright… lay it on me… again."

TBC


End file.
